To apply for an Equity Builder Program
(EBP) grant, members must fill out and submit an application
online. Funding is subject to the terms listed below.
Links to program documents are available on the Forms
and Applications page.

Affordability-Retention Requirements
Each home buyer is required to meet a five-year retention
period. This requirement provides that if the home buyer
sells or refinances the dwelling purchased with the
EBP funds, an amount equal to a prorated portion of
the grant will be recaptured and repaid to the Federal
Home Loan Bank of Boston.

The member must ensure that each owner-occupied unit
purchased or rehabilitated with EBP funds
is subject to a legally enforceable retention mechanism
for five years. To ensure compliance with the retention
requirement, the amount of the grant must be secured
by a retention mechanism in the form of the Bank's
mortgage and note.

For more detailed information regarding the affordability-retention requirement, resale or refinancing, and the pro rata recapture of the EBP subsidy, please refer to the EBP Procedures, the specific retention documents listed under the Home-Buyer Enrollment and Disbursement Request section on the Forms
and Applications page, or contact the EBP manager or your community investment manager.

Commitment Expiration
For other than a matched-savings or IDA
program, members will have up to 24 months to fund
all home buyers, or until the pool is exhausted, provided
that the program is progressing at a satisfactory pace.

Enrolling Home Buyers
All home buyers must be enrolled online through
the Forms
and Applications page. At the time of enrollment,
all income documentation must be submitted for
review and approval by Housing and Community Investment
Department staff. Members are required to submit
home-buyer enrollments at least 10 business days
prior to the scheduled home closing.

The Bank cannot guarantee approval of enrollments submitted less than 10 business days prior to the closing date.

Funding and Reimbursement
EBP funds are provided to members on a reimbursement
basis only. Requests for reimbursement are initiated online.

Prior to issuing a reimbursement of EBP funds to a
member, the Bank's Housing and Community Investment
Department will review the member's request for reimbursement
and perform an eligibility analysis, including reviewing
evidentiary documentation to determine compliance with
the AHP regulation governing the EBP and the member's
EBP application. Disbursements missing documentation
after 30 days may be denied at the Bank's discretion.

Disbursement
An individual at the member institution authorized to
transact business will be required to certify the home
buyer's eligibility and that funds were used for an
eligible purpose upon requesting reimbursement/disbursement
of funds.

If EBP funds are being used for rehabilitation, the
work must be paid before request for disbursement.

The EBP grant funds will be disbursed to the member's
IDEAL Way Account within 15 business days of receipt
of the subsidy-disbursement request and the supporting
documentation.

Monitoring and Reporting
There are no reporting and monitoring requirements.
However, members are required to maintain, within each
household's files, all pertinent documentation, including
(but not limited to) income verification (at the time
of enrollment), underwriting worksheets, savings plan,
counseling certification, HUD-1 forms, and other closing
documentation evidencing the purchase of a home.

Members are required to be the point of contact for the AHP-assisted homebuyer throughout the five-year retention period.

After closing, the Bank reserves the right to periodically
request household files on a sample basis to confirm
continued compliance with program requirements.